Chapter 11: Faith Restored to the Lost

Slowly the realization of the what I had just been told began to take over me, and releasing my hold on Abel's hand, I willed myself to repeat his words within my mind. I forced myself to hear my prognosis said in my own voice. "I'm...I'm half Methuselah?" I shook my head, denying the words any further access into my thoughts, tears began to fall onto my cheeks. Then finally, I decided to speak out loud, muttering in defiance. "No! No...it's not...it can't be possible..." With these parting words, I pushed my way past Abel and began to run away from both him and the Professor.

Behind me, I heard Abel calling out to me. "Jonah, wait!"

As I fled from the morgue, I could barely hear the Professor whisper. "Just leave her be for right now, Abel. She'll come to you when she feels that she is ready."

What the Professor had said might have been true. However, at that exact moment, I didn't care about anything. I felt like I had been betrayed. As if I had been stabbed in the back and then lied to about it. I retreated back into my mind and thought back to my childhood. To all of the memories that I had ever made during my life. I couldn't help but to question whether any of these memories had ever been real. My thoughts transitioned to my parents. Were they actually my parents...or were they just lies too? Scowling, I forced myself to run faster. My want and need for solitude and solace were becoming an ever present shadow that loomed over me. The feelings I felt continuously growing stronger as the now eternal seconds passed away before me.

When I found myself standing at the door that led into my room, I simply stared at the wooden door. Unfamiliar visions flooding into my mind. I saw Sister Noelle standing outside of my door, waiting for me. I then heard her voice within my mind. "Jonah! Just the person I was looking for."

Looking at the ground, I whispered with vehemence in my words. "I'm sorry, Sister Noelle, but I am afraid that I can't help you right now." I shook Noelle's image from my thoughts and entered the room.

It was very much the same as it had been the first time that I had seen it. The only difference now was that there was a standing mirror setting in one of the corners.

My eyes instantly became glued onto the mirror and with a small amount of hesitation, I walked over to it and really took a good look at myself for the first time in what felt like years.

I was still wearing the white shirt and long pajama pants, the habit that I had been wearing for the last four months was no where to be seen. I noticed that my brown hair, which was already long to begin with, had grown several more inches and now reached my waist. As I worked my line of sight further up on my body, I began to see more slight changes in my appearance. On the left side of my neck, which I remembered was where the Professor had said I had been injured, I saw a long white mark. Running the fingers on my right hand down the line, I felt it and could tell that it was slightly raised up above the rest of my skin. I quickly realized that it was a fairly fresh scar and jerking my hand away, looking at anything other than the scar. So glancing at my face, I saw that my complexion was the same as it had been before, and finally I looked at the rest of my face as a whole. My green-yellow eyes staring back at me.

Frozen by a fresh fear, I leaned closer to the mirror and gently pressed a finger to the skin just below my eye and pulled down lightly. I began to scream inside of my thoughts. "What is this? My eyes are green! Green!" I then remembered staring into the window of the church where I had found Abel just a few hours prior. I had seen green-yellow eyes staring back at me then as well, I had just been in so much of a hurry to find Father Nightroad...I must not paid any attention to it.

Standing back up straight, I glared at my own reflection. I no longer looked like myself. And I felt terrified because of it. As I stood there, I began to feel an undiluted rage start to stem deep from within and wash over me. Clutching my hands into tight fists at my sides, I could feel them shaking from all of my anger. So much that I decided to use all of my hatred to my advantage. I began to accuse the person looking back at me. "This is all of your fault! I did nothing to deserve any of this! I was happy!" As I yelled, so did my opponent. I felt like I was being mocked. Then looking down at my trembling right fist, I raised it up and on eye level, I looked at it almost as if it were the first time that I were actually seeing it. Finally, I pulled my arm back and began to unleash all of my pent-up emotions.

All of my sadness. All of my anger. All of my loneliness. Everything. I started to take it all out on the lie that stood before me. With every blow that the mirror took, shards of glass flew in every direction all around me, and just before I shattered the final section of the mirror that remained, I saw it. The sharpened tips of what looked like fangs protruding down past my upper lip. Blood eventually began to appear and smeared across the wooden backing of the mirror. The blood coming from where my knuckles had been cut by the glass shards. But I couldn't bring myself to stop. There were still so many emotions that remained within me, and though I had shattered the reflection that had been standing before me, I felt no better. I still felt as if I had been deceived.

As an unstoppable sea of tears began to break through an invisible floodgate, I covered my face with my bloodied hands and slowly sank down to the floor. Blood, from my wounds on my right hand, dripped onto the white shirt that I wore. I ignored it all and sobbed out in pain.

Pain from my heart breaking. As the world that I had thought I knew slowly began to fade away right in front of my very eyes.

Instinctively, I curled myself up into a ball. I wanted to try and preserve any ounce of my former humanity that might still yet remain within the confines that was now my damned soul.

Broken, I whispered out loud to myself. "I'm a monster...and everything that I've ever done in my life has all been for nothing! After all...the future that I was striving for no longer exists..." I pulled my hands away from my face and with wide eyes, said. "I'm now the enemy..."

Coming to this realization, I heard a gentle knock coming from the other side of my shut door. It was then followed by Abel's voice. "Jonah? Jonah, are you in here?" I watched as the handle slowly turned and as the door began to open, I felt trembles resonate all throughout my body. Then after what seemed like forever, Abel finally took a step into my room. When he saw it, his eyes drifted from the shards of broken glass strewn all across the floor over to me, sitting in the middle of it all, blood dripping from my hand. He stared at me in shock.

Seeing Abel, I slowly began to crawl away from him. Using my hands to pull me backwards, while I used my feet to push against the floor.

Watching me behave so fearfully, the expression that overcame Abel's face wasn't one of anger or disgust, but rather it was one of pity. He walked over to the bed in the room and taking the cream colored sheets in his hands, he began to tear away a long strip of the fabric. Then with the fabric in hand, he turned back to face me, sadly whispering. "You needn't be afraid." He walked closer to me, and kneeling down he slowly reached out and took my injured hand into his own.

I sat in silence as Abel began to wrap the piece of cream colored cloth around my hand.

"Jonah, I know exactly what it is that you're going through. Believe me...I know that it hurts. I know that you feel as though you're all alone in this world...but the truth is..." He finished tying the cloth around my wound, then gently he began to grip onto my hand, and tilting his head up, with his winter blue eyes looking at me, he continued to speak. "The truth of the matter is, Jonah, you are far from being alone. Trust me when I say that there are still people in this world who care about you. Who wish that they could take all of this pain that you feel away from you. But there is something that I feel as though you need to understand...turning your back on everything and everyone around you won't help to solve any of this."

Sniffling, I gently pulled away from Abel's grip and wiped my face with the back of my now bandaged hand. Then taking it from my cheeks, I saw that blood was now smeared onto the once pure cloth. "What can I do then, Father? I know nothing about myself...I don't understand why I was born...everything that I thought I knew, it all ended up being nothing but a giant lie."

Abel sighed and asked. "And what of all the things that I have told you? Do you believe those to be lies as well?" When I didn't respond, he began to look genuinely hurt. "They weren't lies, Jonah. Every word that I have said to you has been nothing short of the truth."

Looking at him, I nod my head.

With a warm smile, Abel went on to further reassure me. "You do know that I still intend to be there right alongside you every step of the way, don't you?"

Donning a feeble smile of my own, I whispered. "Thank you, Father Nightroad."

He got back to his feet and extended a hand out to me, as he pulled me up onto my own feet, he said. "Now that that's all done. I need for you to come with me." Seeing the fear that instantly came flooding back into my eyes, he laughed quietly and went on to say. "It's nothing bad, trust me. I just need for you to see something."

I hesitantly followed Abel and once we were out into the hallway, I silently shut the door behind me. Blocking the room that I had left in shambles away from the view of the rest of the world. After which, I began to walk with Father Nightroad at a casual pace.

"Do you remember what I told you when you asked me about what the A.X. was?" He saw me give a slight nod of my head, and continued speaking. "Well there is actually more to the story than what I had originally told you. In the grand scheme of everything that we do in the world, what the A.X. truly offers, to those who would otherwise feel unwanted, is a place where they feel as though they belong." Abel started to make slight gestures with his hands as he attempted to explain a few things to me as I walked next to him.

I shift my gaze down to my feet and asked. "So what does that mean, Father? That I should suddenly feel at home? That I should feel comfortable living as the only Methuselah among a throng of humans?" I sighed.

Abel shook his head. "Jonah, you're not listening to me and please use the term Terran from now on. But what I'm trying to tell you is that the A.X. is comprised of those who, if presented to a normal society, could be viewed as being misfits."

When we stopped walking, I found that we were standing outside of a closed mahogany door that I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen before. And as Abel opened the door, he offered for me to be the first to enter. So stepping into the room, I saw that it was Cardinal Sforza's office. This had been the first room that I had seen on the day that I had arrived to the Vatican.

The beautiful Cardinal sat at her desk, and in front of her stood two small groups of people. One group consisted of three people while the other had four.

Abel shut the door behind him as he made his way into the room, and I watched as he went over to join the group of three.

Finally the two groups formed themselves into two uniform lines. In the first I saw Father Tres, a priest with long black hair whom I had never officially met, Terina and then Father Nightroad.

In the second line there stood the Professor, a woman that I could only assume was Sister Kate, Elma and Esther.

Cardinal Caterina stood up and gracefully walked over to me. "Father Nightroad informed us that you were alive the moment that he could." She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, adding a dash of compassion into her voice. "He also informed us about how it is that you managed to survive. Sister Jonah, I would like to convey to you a promise. That as long as you are a part of the A.X. you will be treated in the same manner as any of my other agents are."

I looked at her in confusion.

As she saw this, Caterina spoke with authority. "Sister Jonah Turner, from this moment forward, you are hereby officially one of my agents. You will receive missions that you will be expected to complete with as much discretion as possible. You are to report to me when you have the results of these missions. Am I understood?" Though she spoke with authority, there was an unmistakable kindness to her words.

Shocked, I nod my head. "Yes, ma'am. I understand."

She went back to her desk and sat down, turning her gaze over to Abel. "Father Nightroad, since this was your idea, you may lead the way."

Smiling, he stepped forward. "Thank you, Miss Caterina." He walked over to me and began to talk. "Now, Jonah, as I was telling you while on the way here, everyone who is a member of the A.X. has a quality or an ability that makes them unique when compared to others in the world." He stood directly behind me, saying. "You already know what makes me unique. You saw that part of me the first time that we me. Yet everyone else..." Gesturing from one line of people to the other, he went on to say. "They have yet to properly introduce themselves to you." Abel looked at Tres and prompted. "Okay, Tres, would you care to tell Jonah a little about yourself?"

Father Tres turned to look at me, his appearance was the same as it always seemed to be. His hazel brown hair was cropped short, his short bangs were spiked up slightly. The eyes looking at me were just as emotionless as his was when he began to speak, his words sounding mono-toned. "Positive, Father Abel Nightroad. I am Father Tres Iques. My proper production name is HC-IIIX. My codename is Gunslinger. I am a mechanical infantryman, meaning that I am not human. I am a machine."

This was the most that I had ever heard Tres say at one time, and feeling the shock that I now knew he never would, I whispered. "Thank you, Father Tres."

The Professor, with his sea foam pipe securely wedged between his teeth, was the next to speak. "Father William Walter Wordsworth, at your service. Although, as you already know, most simply just choose to call me Professor. I've got no special skills when it comes to fighting. Nor do I possess any superhuman abilities, like some of the other A.X. agents do...but at the end of the day, I serve as the brain of the A.X." He smiled smugly before going on to explain. "Most of the equipment that is used within the A.X., including but not being limited to the battle airship the Iron Maiden II, have been designed by me."

I smiled politely and nod my head in respect when the Professor had finished speaking. It had never occurred to me that he did so much for the rest of the team.

The priest with the long black hair turned to face me, and looking at him, I saw the short stubble of a mustache and beard all along his upper lip and chin. "I am Father Vaclav Havel, and my codename is Know Faith. Today is the first time that I feel we've been allowed to meet up close." He smiled and placed his right hand over top his heart. "Many years ago, while I was still a part of the Inquisitorial Department, I made the decision to become a mechanized solider. By doing this, most of my body has been replaced with mechanical parts. The day that my new life began, I was also implanted with a piece of technology that would grant me the ability of invisible camouflage. It might also be worth mentioning that I'm a master of the martial arts."

Hearing the story of how he had become the man that stood before me now, I smiled warmly. ""It's a pleasure to meet you, Father Havel."

Next, the woman that I thought could be no one other than Sister Kate began to speak, confirming my suspicions. "We finally meet face to face. My name is Sister Kate Scott." Her voice was kind. She had medium length blonde hair, while her eyes were a clear blue. A beauty mark was visible just below her left eye. Looking at her, I noticed a faint light flickering all through her body, and I realized that I was looking at a hologram. Smiling, Kate began to explain. "While I was still a student attending the University of Rome, I was the victim of an incident that left me paralyzed and, for the most part, brain dead." She folded her hands over her stomach. "But thanks to the power of science, and because of the technology that existed at the time, I was given the ability to cast a holographic projection of myself out into the world. My codename is Iron Maiden, and thus it is my responsibility to transport agents to and from mission sites in the Iron Maiden II. I also provide those agents with backup should they ever need it."

In my mind, I thought about how sad Sister Kate's story had been, but I couldn't deny the fact that she looked happy. So smiling, I whispered. "Thank you, Sister."

After this, Terina instantly began to speak. "In a sense, I am a witch. I have the ability of dark energy manipulation, which can potentially be a dangerous practice. Over time, it will eventually do irreversible damage to both my body and my mind. But if that's the price that I have to pay in order to do what I need to, then so be it." Her violet eyes finally drifted over to where I stood. "I can also use negative energy to manifest powerful emotions within the hearts of my enemies."

As soon as Terina finished speaking, Elma followed suit. "Just like my older sister, I too am a witch. However I have the ability of light energy manipulation. The only risk of this is that one day I could become overwhelmed by the energy that flows all throughout me, but it's okay. My powers allow me to heal those who have been hurt around me." She smiled sweetly. "I can also manifest positive energy, and I often use that energy to help my friends."

What I had just been told explained so much. "So the day that I ran into you..."

Elma nodded her head knowingly. "I used positive energy to lift your spirits, and Terina knew that she couldn't touch you without severely amplifying your emotions."

Feeling thankful for the two sisters, I smiled confessing. "You really are complete opposites aren't you?"

Finally, Esther's turn to speak came. "I don't have any abilities or skills, but others have called me the Star of Hope in the past."

Nodding my head, I heard Cardinal Caterina begin to address me. "Sister Jonah, there are still a couple of agents that you have yet to meet. Father Hugue de Watteau and Father Leon Garsia de Asturias." She readjusted the monocle that she wore over her right eye. "I hope that you will be granted the opportunity of meeting the both of them one day soon."

Becoming happier as the time went by, I replied to my superior. "I look forward to meeting the both of them, your Eminence."

Abel placed a hand on my shoulder and smiling, asked. "So are you feeling any better about things?"

I nod my head once, asking as a thought entered into my mind. "I am. But I have a question. What was Sister Noelle's ability?"

Everyone in the room remained silent, and eventually Terina was the one to respond. "Much like Elma and myself, Sister Noelle's ability revolved around human emotions. But unlike us, she was able to visibly see the emotions that others felt. She could see them in the way that we're able to see color."

In my mind I wondered. "What did Sister Noelle see when she looked at me?" Yet all that came out of my mouth was, "I see."

A moment passed and Caterina began to speak once more. "Are there any further questions that you would like to ask while we are all here?"

Swallowing nervously, I nod my head. "There actually is one thing that I can think of. But it's not so much a question as it is a request."

Caterina smiled at me, asking as she did so. "Then what is your request?"

I forced myself to look the Cardinal in the eye before saying. "If it's possible...I'd like to learn a few things about myself. I want to know where I'm actually from. I want to know if my parents are who they've led me to think of them as. I need to know the truth."

As Cardinal Sforza closed her eyes, she whispered. "I think that can all be arranged."